Crosslimba is two kalimbas.
Two tine rows are cross-mounted onto a piece of plywood, so they rattle & bang.
The sound – quite thin at first – gains much, when you attach Crosslimba to a resonating surface with a screw terminal.
Tables, doors, drums, windows, boxes, these kind of things work well to get a richer and louder sound. You can also add a dynamic or a contact microphone for amplification and fx.
Ingredients
- spring steel (hardened), flat – or hammered nails
- plywood 0.9 cms thick ( i used 10×8×0.9 cms here)
- brass, steel or aluminum rods or tubes, ø6-7 mms
- pieces of U-profiled rail, steel is better than aluminum, sheet metal doesn’t work.
- 4 wood screws, m3-3.5, max 2.5-3mms length
Tools
- A bolt cutter,
- a slow bench drill with decent torque and with
- a bracket to hold pieces in place,
- m3/4 metal and wood drills,
- a screwdriver
- some sunflower oil to make metal drilling easier
Those measurements are mine, yours will change upon the dimensions and materials of your own version.
I found all materials & tools in a neighborhood metal/wood workshop. A nearby goldsmith might be able to help as well. Doing this completely yourself requires a bit of machine investment or dedicated hand tools.
Use a variety of sticks/mallets adding to playing with your thumbs. This varies the tonal outcome a lot. You can easily make mallets from chop sticks and wine/champagne corks.
